Air quality concerns spark suit against south KC asphalt plant

Citing concerns about air quality, a community group and the city of Grandview have filed a lawsuit against the Ideker asphalt plant in Kansas City.

Concerned Citizens for Air Impact Reduction and the city want to force the plant to comply with federal and Missouri air quality laws and regulations.

The plant, which is located near the Grandview city limits at 5600 E. Missouri Highway 150, has two elementary schools within 4,000 feet: Belvedere and Butcher Greene.

Critics argue that southerly winds blow pollution from the plant into Grandview.

A recent environmental analysis commissioned by Grandview found that the plant emits pollutants -- including nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and fine particulate matter -- at unsafe levels. The pollutants are associated with serious respiratory problems, especially for children and older adults.

"It's the same story we hear time and time again about factories in other communities and sometimes whole communities had to be moved 20 years later because of the pollution and everything that happened there in that community," said Kathy Wilson Sutoris of Concerned Citizens for Air Impact Reduction. "I expect them to do the right thing."

Dennis Randolph of Grandview Public Works said there are plans to build more homes and businesses in the area, but at least one developer said it will pull out of the project as long as the Ideker plant stands.

"We've got the future of the people and we've got the future of development and services for people," Randolph said. "So we lose every way you can think of if that (plant) stays there."

Ideker's permit was issued in 2012 by the city of Kansas City and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The critics said air quality experts have since found inaccuracies in the reports used to predict plant emissions and their environmental impact.

The 2012 permit was issued over the objection of several parties, including the Grandview School District and the Grandview Chamber of Commerce.

Ideker has since filed an application to operate the plant at the site on a permanent basis. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to block that request and to let a judge review the process of Ideker's permit application.

Ideker has not responded to a KMBC 9 News request for comment on the story.

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